Anticipatory Mobile System Service Brokering and Resource Planning from Multiple Providers

ABSTRACT

Diagnostic codes from a vehicle or other system in transit are transmitted to an opportunity server. The opportunity server searches for potential providers according to user preferences, specifications of the system in transit, and location of the provider in relationship to the travel itinerary of the mobile system. Requests for bids are issued to potential providers, and offers are received and coalesced from the providers. The operator of the vehicle is presented with one or more coalesced offers. Upon selection of an offer by the operator, the service is scheduled, including arranging for parts, personnel and facilities.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS (CLAIMING BENEFIT UNDER 35U.S.C. 120)

This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/232,246, docket number AUS920020344US1, filed on Aug. 29, 2002, bytWilliam Kress Bodin, et al.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STATEMENT

This invention was not developed in conjunction with any Federallysponsored contract.

MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Related U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/232,246, docket numberAUS920020344US1, filed on Aug. 29, 2002, byt William Kress Bodin, etal., is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/232,246, docket number AUS920020344US1, filed on Aug. 29, 2002, bytWilliam Kress Bodin, et al. This invention relates to the technologiesof automated and preemptive service determination, brokering andscheduling for moving systems such as automobiles, trains, trucks,ships, and aircraft.

2. Background of the Invention

Vehicles are traditionally designed and built with a finite set ofgauges or indicator warning lights which are intended to convey vitaloperational status to the operator of the vehicle. For example, manyautomobiles are equipped with a temperature gauge or warning light, andan oil pressure gauge or warning light, on the dashboard. If atemperature gauge enters a range indicating higher than normal operatingcoolant temperature, the driver may choose to continue driving until aservice station is reached. For indicator lights, often referred to as“dummy lights”, the light may be illuminated when the temperature hasreached a critical point, leaving the driver with even fewer options(e.g. less time to find a service station). Most automobiles, however,are equipped many sensors in the engine, electrical, electronic, anddrive train subsystems, which provide more information regarding thestatus of the engine. This detailed information, however, is not usuallypresented to the driver, but is maintained in memory by an on-boardcomputer for later analysis by an automotive technician and/ordiagnostic computer. During the operation of the vehicle, the on-boardcomputer may simply determine if a sensor indicates a potential problemand decide to illuminate a warning light.

Most modern vehicles, including ships, aircraft, trains, trucks andcars, follow this convention of collecting a large amount of sensor andindicator data from the vehicle's subsystems, storing these data itemsin memory, and presenting simple, “high level” indicators to the vehicleoperator (e.g. pilot, captain, etc.).

So, for example, when a driver sees an over-temperature indicator lightor notices a temperature gauge in the “hot” range, he must make a fairlyuninformed decision as to how to proceed. If he is driving on a highway,he must decide to “chance it” and continue driving until the next townor service center is reached in the hopes that an appropriately-equippedand staffed repair shop will be found. By doing so, he risks causingexpensive damage to the vehicle's engine. If he chooses to take such arisk and upon arrival at the next town finds that no appropriatelyequipped or staffed shop is available, he may have to pay for a towanyway, thereby finding that he incurred the risk of engine damageunnecessarily (e.g. he could have stopped on the roadside and called fora tow).

This particular problem has become even more pronounced as theautomobile industry has diversified in recent years. Many consumers arepurchasing vehicles which are made by manufacturers who have smallportions of market share in the country where they reside, and thusthere are fewer repair centers which are equipped with the diagnosticequipment for his or her particular make-and-model of vehicle and whohave appropriately trained staff for the needed repair. In one example,a driver may have a car which cannot be serviced by any shop in the nexttown because it is manufactured by a company which does not have adealer in town. In another example situation, a dealer for the driver'scar may be in town, but the malfunction may be in a subsystem for whichthe dealer does not have a trained technician currently on staff or oncall (e.g. a problem within the transmission but the dealer has notransmission technicians on staff). A third aspect of whether or notservice can be obtained as needed is whether or not a service center hasready access to spare parts and replacement components, as may berequired.

All travel is time dependent (e.g. there is an itinerary to be kept),whether it is a road trip in a car by a private consumer, a transoceanicshipment by ship or a scheduled airline flight, and as such, all ofthese factors must be met in a timely fashion to minimize the economic,social, and financial impact of a vehicle repair:

-   (a) availability of an appropriate business entity to provide the    service (e.g. car repair shop, aircraft maintenance depot, etc.);-   (b) availability of appropriately skilled service personnel;-   (c) availability necessary facilities, tools and systems (e.g.    diagnostic systems, repair tools, etc.); and-   (d) availability of components and repair parts.

In most cases, another factor of obtaining service is whether or not theprice or cost of the service is acceptable to the operator of thevehicle. In some cases, such as having a car indicator illuminate whileon a cross-country trip or visiting a city away from home, the drivermay anticipate being charged an exorbitant amount for a routine repair,and as such, may decide not to seek service until returning to his orher home town, further increasing his or her risk for greater vehicledamage and possibly causing safety problems.

As a result, while ample diagnostic information to determine a neededservice and replacement component is often collected by vehicle on-boardcomputers and sensors, and while some operational time before arrivingat a point of possible service is often available (e.g. driving time tonext town, flight time to land at next airport, travel time to nexttrain depot, etc.), this time is not wisely used to search forappropriate service providers and to negotiate for acceptable servicecost. Normally, the operator of the vehicle will begin these processesafter arriving at the next point of service, which may incur additionalcosts (e.g. overnight shipping of parts, hotel stays, rental vehicles,etc.) and may cause undesirable delays to the itinerary.

Many vehicle operators and vehicles are equipped with communicationssystems (e.g. radio, wireless telephones, etc.) which allow them tocommunicate to some degree their problem while in transit, and toattempt to set arrangements for service at the next point of service.However, this can be ineffective as it can be very difficult, forexample, for a car driver to obtain quotes for parts and service whiledriving on a highway, especially because he or she is not privy to thedetailed error codes stored in the on-board computer's memory therebymaking an accurate diagnosis difficult.

Still other systems, such as General Motor's On Star™ system, providesfor triggering of communications such as a cell telephone to call to anoperator when certain conditions are detected, such as deployment of anairbag. Generally, this only helps the driver get in contact withpossible assistance, but does not relieve the driver of the mentaldistraction trying to describe a problem and to negotiate for a serviceaction. Another potentially useful service are cellular-based conciergeservices, which allows a driver to call a single point of contact toinitiate assistance such as scheduling a car maintenance appointment.These services, however, are more general purpose in nature (e.g. makinghotel reservations, obtaining show tickets, etc.), and are of limitedassistance with handling detailed vehicle trouble and maintenancediscussions. In either of these cases, the on-board diagnosticinformation is neither available to the driver, the assisting telephoneoperator or concierge for accurate and precise planning of a maintenanceservice.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for a system and method whichutilizes the time available between the first time of detection of apotential problem on a mobile system or vehicle in transit and the timeto arrival at a point of service to determine potential providers,obtain quotes from the service providers, select a provider and schedulethe service action such that itinerary impact is minimized, safety andconvenience to the vehicle operator is maximized, and exorbitantunexpected expenses are eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following detailed description when taken in conjunction with thefigures presented herein provide a complete disclosure of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows the high level organization of the system according to theinvention.

FIG. 2 provides details of an enhanced electronic control module.

FIG. 3 provides details of the opportunity server.

FIG. 4 sets forth the logical process according to the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention integrates the on-board diagnostics capabilities of mobilesystems such as vehicles, location based services technologies, andnetworked supply chain management technologies to provide anticipatoryarrangement of required services and maintenance actions. Based uponreal-time fault condition detection in a mobile system and upon thesystem's location and direction of travel, one or more potentialgeographic points of service, preferably within the scheduled itineraryof travel, is determined. The fault or trouble indicators are thenanalyzed to determine minimum service provider characteristics (e.g.hours of operation, staff qualifications, equipment and parts on-hand,etc.), and quotes or estimates for expected service actions aresolicited and collected from partner provider systems.

These quotes are analyzed and presented to the mobile system operatorfor selection, either manually or automatically, based upon userpreferences. If a service provider is selected, the service is scheduledaccording to an estimated time of arrival of the mobile system,including arranging for parts to be procured in advance such that thereis minimal delay to the travel itinerary for the completion of theservice.

If no service provider is found or selected, a second wider search forpotential providers may be made to minimize deviation from theitinerary, including solicitation of quotes and estimates, selection andscheduling of the service actions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The system and method integrate several well-known technologies via anapplication server and one or more computer networks, as shown inFIG. 1. The following technologies and terminologies are used withinthis disclosure.

Location Based Services (“LBS”)—a set of services which are associatedwith and driven by the location of a device such as a wirelesstelephone, personal digital assistant, or other computer. LBS may useone of several available technologies to determine the geographiclocation of a device, including but not limited to GPS, the FederalCommunication Commission's Enhanced 911 (“E911”) or micro-networks suchas open-standard BlueTooth.

Global Positioning System (“GPS”)—any one of several availabletechnologies for determining geographic position electronically,including most prevalently use of a network of satellites ingeosynchronous orbit and a receiver to pinpoint the receiver's location.Older systems, such as LORAN and TRANSIT, may be used, as well. Regionalpositioning may be determined using signal triangulation or othermethods commonly employed to determine in which cell in a cellularsystem a transceiver is located.

Computer Network—most preferably the Internet, but also possibly localarea networks (“LAN”), wireless area networks (“WAN”), private networksand intranets.

Wireless Network—any suitable communications network for datatransmission and reception including Personal Communications Systems(“PCS”), wireless LAN, light wave (e.g. infrared) networks, andradio-based data links, all of which may be of proprietary nature or mayconform to one of many well-known wireless standards.

Mobile System—used generally to refer to any system which is able todiagnose its own faults and failures and which may be transported, andespecially, but not limited to, the control and diagnostic computers forvehicles such as automotive Electronic Control Modules (“ECM”). A mobilesystem, however, does not have to be part of a vehicle, but may bevehicle-born, such as certain electronic systems carried in aircraft andships which may need maintenance actions.

Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”)—broadly, a set of activities andtechnologies employed by businesses to effectively plan and use theirresources, including materials ordering, order receipt and fulfillment,billing and accounts payable, personnel scheduling and the like.

Supply Chain Management (“SCM”)—a group of technologies and methods forcoordinating the activities of multiple suppliers to achieve a goal suchas delivering a service with certain materials. SCM includes thecomputer systems used to receive orders and requests for quotes, systemsfor determining current and future inventories, methods for calculatinglabor times and values, automated quote generation systems, and systemsfor executing orders and deliveries of materials.

Mobile System Diagnostic System—any system used to diagnose a mobilesystem such as a vehicle or other system which can be transported. Wewill use terms conventional to the automotive industry for thisdisclosure to broadly encompass similar terms from other mobile systemsindustries such as aviation, rail and maritime shipping. For example, wewill refer to records regarding detected failures and potentiallydiagnosed root causes as Diagnostic Trouble Codes (“DTC”), and thecomputer which performs the monitoring of sensors, recording of failuresand conditions, and transmission of DTC records as an electronic controlmodule (“ECM”). It will be evident to those skilled in the art that theinvention is not related to an automotive implementation, and that theuse of these terms from automotive parlance is for understandability andpresentation of a preferred embodiment only.

Turning now to FIG. 1, the general system organization (10) of theinvention is shown. A mobile system, such as a car ECM, initially is alocation or position p₀ at an initial time t₀ when a fault, failure orout-of-range condition is detected within a monitored system. Using aGPS or LBS subsystem such as a GPS receiver, the initial position p₀ isrecorded with the DTC regarding the detected conditions, as well as withany DTC's which are the result of diagnostic analysis to determine theroot cause of the detected condition.

For example, if a low fuel pressure level is detected, the ECM mayrecord the position of the vehicle at the time the condition is detectedin a first DTC, and may check other sensors for indications to assist indiagnosing the root cause of the failure. It may be diagnosed that thefuel filler cap may need to be checked or replaced. This diagnosis maybe recorded in a second DTC, in typical ECM systems. According to thepreferred embodiment, DTC's are recorded in a format commonly understoodby automotive diagnostic computers, such as the International StandardsOrganization's Controller-Area Network (“CAN”) or Society of AutomotiveEngineers' J1850 format. Any format which records this information,however, may be equally well employed to realize the invention,especially for non-automotive applications as previously discussed.

These DTC's are then transmitted to an opportunity server (17), via afirst wireless network, and secondly by a computer network (12).According to the preferred embodiment, the wireless network interface isan IBM eNetworks Wireless Switch coupled with convention wireless datacommunications facilities such as a Personal Communications System(“PCS”) transceiver. Other wireless network solutions, such asMotorola's Ricochet network, may be employed as well. The computernetwork is preferrably the well-known Internet, but may be a proprietaryor private network (e.g. LAN, WAN, etc.).

The opportunity server receives the DTC's, consults a set of userprofiles to determine any user preferences (19) known for the driver(e.g. preference to take his or her car to dealers only), and thendetermines if there are any potential providers in the future vicinityof the mobile system (e.g. next or previous town on the travel route).Those potential providers (16) are then issued a bid request using ERPand/or electronic data interchange (“EDI”) types of communications. Torespond to the request for bid, each provider preferably certifies thatthey have (or will have) stock of necessary components, qualified staffon hand, and the necessary equipment to complete the maintenance actionat the time of estimated arrival of the mobile system. Providers may beeliminated or sorted according to the user preferences, such asmanufacturer dealers, automobile association ratings, etc.

One or more providers (16), then, may respond with quotes and estimates,which are then coalesced by the opportunity server (15) for downloadingand presenting to the mobile system operator (e.g. car driver) via thecomputer network (12) and wireless interface (14). Presentation of theoperator's options may be made graphically using a display on thevehicle's control panel (e.g. a TFT or LCD display on a car dashboard,computer display on a ship's helm, etc.), or audibly via a speakerphoneor stereo system. The vehicle operator may then select a provider, whichcauses the opportunity server to confirm the bid and appointment to thewinning provider.

When the mobile system arrives at the anticipated location p₁ on orabout the anticipated time of arrival t₁, the service action may be madewithout unnecessary delays waiting for parts, personnel, or shopping foran acceptable cost or price.

If no provider is selected or no acceptable bid is made in the firstsearch, the opportunity server (17) may repeat the search and offerprocess for a subsequent location p₂ and expected time of arrival t₂which is either part of the operator's desired itinerary or within anacceptable deviation from the desired itinerary.

Turning to FIG. 2, details of the enhanced ECM (20) of the mobile systemaccording to the preferred embodiment are shown. The ECM (21), whichincludes a microprocessor or microcontroller, is interfaced (22) to aplurality of sensors and other subsystem monitors (e.g. controllers in atransmission, fuel injectors, etc.) via a bus such as the aforementionedJ1850 or CAN bus, or appropriate proprietary or standard bus accordingto an alternate embodiment and vehicle application. Through thisinterface (22), the ECM receives information regarding detectedfailures, faults and out-of-range conditions, which are recorded in DTCsin the ECM memory (24).

The enhanced ECM (20) is also provided with location means, such as aGPS receiver or LBS-enabled wireless interface (25, 26), as well as areal-time clock (200). The location of the vehicle at the time of thedetected event is recorded either with each DTC or in a separate DTCassociated with the first DTC. Contact is then initiated through awireless network interface (28, 29), such as a PCS interface, to theremote opportunity server, and the DTC's are transmitted or uploaded tothe server.

Using the wireless network interface (28, 29), the enhanced ECM (20) mayreceive the coalesced opportunities (e.g. collected and qualified bidsor offers from the providers) from the opportunity server, display orpresent them through the user interface (201), and receive a userselection. Presentation may be through a visual display, such as usingan LCD or TFT display, or audibly using text-to-speech or telephoneaudio channels. The user's selection, such as a speech-recognized “yes”or “no” or input from a touch screen, may be transmitted back to theopportunity server via the wireless interface.

Some of these functions may be provided in combination with each other.For example, GPS operates on transmission of time-based signals fromsatellites to the GPS receivers, and as such, a GPS receiver includes areal-time clock. Also, a PCS phone which is LBS-enabled can also beemployed as the wireless network interface.

FIG. 3 provides more details of the opportunity server (17), whichincludes a common web server computing hardware platform (31) andoperating system (32). The computing platform is preferrably an IBMeServer such as the IBM i-Series, or any other suitable computerplatform such as an IBM-compatible personal computer, Sun Microsystem'sserver, or other capable computer. The hardware platform is alsopreferrably equipped with a network interface (“NIC”) (34) forcommunication with the computer network (12) such as the Internet. TheNIC (34) may be as simple as a modem, or as sophisticated as a highbandwidth digital subscriber loop (“DSL) or T-1 interface (or better).The hardware platform is also preferrably provided with a set of userinterface devices (35) such as a display, keyboard and mouse, foradministration and configuration activities.

The operating system is preferrably IBM's AIX operating system, which iswell adapted to web server applications, but may also be any othersuitable operating system including but not limited to IBM's OS/2, SunMicrosystem's Solaris, Unix, Linux, or Microsoft's Windows. Theopportunity server is also preferrably provided with one or morepersistent storage devices (33) such as a disk array.

To realize the invention in the opportunity server, a web server suite,preferrably IBM's WebSphere Everyplace Suite, is provided with a numberof application programs or scripts to implement the logical processes ofthe invention, as described in the preceding paragraphs and in moredetail in the following paragraphs. The WebSphere product is well knownin the industry, and methods and tools for implementing custom logicalprocesses for networked business solutions are commonplace as theWebSphere product is widely in use by businesses, financialinstitutions, and government agencies around the world. Other suitable acapable software programs and/or suites may be utilized in place of theWebSphere product without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent invention.

The logical processes are preferrably implemented in part in the mobilesystem's enhanced ECM (e.g. firmware or software), in part in thecustomizable logical processes (e.g. Java, scripts, etc.) on theopportunity server, and in part by the provider's servers. These logicalprocesses are shown in FIG. 4 with their cooperative interactions.

When the enhanced ECM detects a fault condition, failure, orout-of-range measurement (41) on the mobile system, it produces (42) oneor more DTCs, and transmits those with the mobile system's time andlocation to the opportunity server, preferrably via a wireless network.

The opportunity server then receives (43) the DTC's, and proceeds tocheck the user's profile and the provider profiles (18, 19) which are inthe area of the next expected point of service (e.g. next or closesttown, port, airport, etc.). Then, the DTC's are processed (45) to createrequests for bids for the needed service repair, and are transmitted viathe computer network to one or more provider servers.

Each provider servers receive (46) the requests, prepares (47) one ormore offers if the provider is able to perform the maintenance service,and transmits these back to the opportunity server.

The opportunity server “coalesces” (e.g. modifies and combines) theseoffers by first screening them to meet the user's preferences, followedby organizing them into a format which is easily and uniformly presentedto the mobile system operator. This may include performingtext-to-speech conversion to allow for audible presentation via atelephone channel, adjusting and filtering graphics for presentation ona dashboard display which has limited capabilities, and minimizing textfor quicker reading.

The coalesced offers are then transmitted preferably on the wirelessnetwork to the enhanced ECM, where they are presented to the mobilesystem operator (49) through display, audio, or both. The user can thenaccept an offer (400), such as by making a verbal election or touchingan icon on a touchscreen, which results in the selection beingtransmitted to the opportunity server, which in turn performs aconfirmation transaction (400) with the winning provider server. Theselected provider server then performs enterprise resource planningfunctions (403) to order and deliver replacement parts to the point ofservice, schedule appropriately skilled personnel to be on call at theexpected time of arrival, and to reserve an appointment for service.

If the mobile system operator declines all offers (402), then theopportunity server may widen the “bid pool” to include service providerswhich are located at a subsequent point of service (e.g. two towns away,two ports away, etc.), and/or which do not completely meet the user'spreferences. For example, if the user prefers to have his car repairedat dealer-owned shops but no dealers are found, the bid pool is widenedto include any qualified shops for the user's make of car.

To annotate FIG. 4 by way of example, suppose a car modified accordingto the present invention in route from Dallas to Austin, Tex., undergoesa failure in the fuel system. The ECM detects that fuel pressure isabnormally low, but that sensors on the fuel injectors indicateacceptable fuel flow. This causes a first DTC to be created for a lowfuel pressure, and a second DTC to be created for a potential root causeof a loose or damaged fuel filler cap (42). Additionally, the locationof the vehicle is determined using GPS, and a third time-location DTC iscreated.

When the opportunity server receives (43) these 3 DTC records, itimmediately consults the user's profile and finds that he prefers tohave his car repaired by the dealers associated with the manufacturer ofhis vehicle. So, using the location information, a database of providersis searched looking for dealers in the next town where the vehicle willbe arriving, perhaps Waco, Tex., and towns which the vehicle hasrecently passed, perhaps Temple, Tex. This determination of points ofservice within the vehicle's vicinity can be made several ways. In itssimplest form, the user may input the towns on the ECM's user interface,which can be included in the third DTC. Alternately, two successive GPSmeasurements can be made, which can be used to calculate vehicledirection and velocity, which can also be included in the DTC and usedby the opportunity in conjunction with a digital map to determineupcoming towns on the vehicle's path. An estimated time of arrival canalso be either calculated using this information, or provided directlyby the vehicle operator.

Once a set of qualified providers has been determined, requests for bidscan be transmitted to the provider's servers online, through means suchas EDI, email, fax, etc. The providers' servers receive the requests,and in this example, determine if they can have parts (e.g. a fuel capfor the user's make and model of car) and skilled staff on hand at theestimated time of arrival of the vehicle. An offer can be generated, ifdesired, and transmitted back to the opportunity server, again usinge-mail, EDI, fax, etc.

The opportunity server collects all of the returned offers, formats andfilters (e.g. “coalesces”) them for presentation to the user, and sendsthem to the vehicle using the wireless network. In our example, let'sassume that the quote price from two dealers is too high for the driverto accept, so he rejects (102) all of the offers, which allows theopportunity server to search for dealers in the next farther towns,perhaps Austin, Tex., and Grand Prairie, Tex., as well as for non-dealerservice shops in Waco capable of performing the repairs. Requests forbids are produced and transmitted (45), and offers from 2 dealers inAustin and a Pep Boys store in Waco are received, coalesced (48), andpresented (49) to the driver.

The driver then may select a lower priced dealer offer in Austin, ifavailable, or a closer offer from Pep Boys if it is less expensive,which then results in the scheduling (403) of the service at theselected provider's facilities.

The invention presented herein meets the objectives and needs notpresently met by systems and methods currently available. It allows anoperator of a mobile system or vehicle to effectively schedule andnegotiate for service actions while in transit, with minimized delay andperturbation to a desired itinerary or schedule, while incurring minimalunexpected expenses.

1. A system for arranging for a business transaction for an operator ofa mobile system while said mobile system is in transit, said systemcomprising: a diagnostic system on board a mobile system having alocation resolver, and a wireless networking interface for transmittingservice need messages; and one or more provider servers having a bidrequest receptor and offer generator/transmitter; and an opportunityserver communicably disposed between said diagnostic system and saidprovider servers, having a service need message receptor, and bidrequest generator/transmitter, an offer receptor; an offercoalescer/transmitter, a user selection receptor, and an order confirmersuch that needs for service by said mobile system may be brokered onbehalf of an operator of said vehicle, and may be scheduled for futureconsumption by said operator according to an accepted offer.
 2. Thesystem as set forth in claim 1 wherein said diagnostic system comprisesa global positioning system.
 3. The system as set forth in claim 1wherein said diagnostic system comprises a location based servicessystem.
 4. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said diagnosticsystem comprises a vehicle electronic control module.
 5. The system asset forth in claim 1 wherein said provider servers comprise networkedenterprise servers for querying for service action quotes and offersover the Internet.
 6. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein saidopportunity server further comprises a set of user profiles and a set ofprovider profiles, and a profile analyzer for selecting one or moreproviders to receive requests for bids according to provider profilesmatching preferences specified in said user profiles, and conditions ofsaid mobile system selected from the group of location of the mobilesystem, direction and speed of travel of the mobile system, andmake-and-model of the mobile system.